I was born and raised an orphan
\nIn a land that once was free
\nIn a land that poured it’s love out on the moon
\nI grew up in the shadows
\nOf your silos filled with grain
\nBut you never helped to fill my empty spoon<\/p>\n
When I was ten you murdered law
\nWith courtroom politics
\nAnd learnt to make a lie sound just like truth
\nBut I know you better now
\nAnd i don’t fall for all your tricks
\nAnd you’ve lost the one advantage of my youth<\/p>\n
You kill a black man at midnight
\nJust for talking to your daughter
\nThen you make his wife your mistress
\nAnd you leave her without water
\nAnd the sheet you wear upon your face<\/p>\n
Is the sheet your children sleep on
\nAnd every meal you say a prayer
\nYou don’t believe but still you keep on
\nAnd your money says ‘In God We Trust’
\nBut it’s against the law to pray in school<\/p>\n
You say we beat the Russians to the moon
\nAnd I say you starved your children to do it
\nYou are far across the ocean
\nIn a war that’s not your own
\nAnd whilst you’re winning theirs
\nYou’re gonna lose the one at home<\/p>\n
Do you really think the only way
\nTo bring about the peace
\nIs to sacrifice your children
\nAnd kill all your enemies<\/p>\n
The politicians all make speeches
\nWhile the news men all take note
\nAnd they exaggerate the issues
\nAs they shove it down our throats<\/p>\n
Is it really up to them
\nWhether this country sinks or floats
\nAnd I wonder who would lead us
\nIf none of us would vote<\/p>\n
Well my phone is tapped and my lips are chapped
\nFrom whispering through the fence
\nYou know every move I make
\nOr is that just coincidence<\/p>\n
Well you try to make my way of life
\nA little less like jail
\nIf I promise to make tapes and slides
\nAnd send them through the mail<\/p>\n
And your money says ‘In God We Trust ‘
\nBut it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s against the law to pray in school
\nYou say we beat the Russians to the moon
\nAnd I say you starved your children to do it<\/p>\n
You say ‘all men are equal, all men are brothers
\nThen why are the rich more equal than others
\nDon’t ask me for the answer I’ve only got one
\nThat a man leaves his darkness when he follows the Son<\/p>\n
Larry Norman, the artist that wrote this song, passed away on Feb. 24, this year. Even though the lyrics above sound as if they were written to reflect the way of the world in 2008, Larry actually wrote this in 1972. Larry was a poet, a preacher and a musician\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 which is to say that Larry was a prophet in the truest sense of the word. As much an activist as he was a pacifist, he had the courage to walk the talk. That kind of authenticity is contagious. People can tell the difference between a \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcChristian\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 and a Christlike\u00e2\u20ac\u2122.Sadly, genuinely Christ-like people are so rare that they tend to stand out pretty quickly.<\/p>\n
I bring this up because it begs a big question. How much of what we do in our lives or in our churches is best limited to Christian audiences? When I first became a Christian, inviting people into a relationship with Jesus was easy. Like the woman at the well, I encouraged everyone I met to meet this man, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153who told me everything I ever did\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. Now though it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s much harder, and I know the reason. When I talk to people about God, I rarely invite them into a relationship with Jesus; instead I invite them to church. And because I know I worship in a church that has a history and a continuity of racism, sexism, homophobia, hyper-capitalistic selfishness, and warmongering, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pretty embarrassing to invite people in.<\/p>\n
Just in case you haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t figured it out, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m talking about the WHOLE church of Christ on earth, not just my little Pomona Brethren.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n And so I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve decided to take a stand. Where there is injustice I will speak out, where I see inequality, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll step in. Those willing to publicly utter racist comments, sexist comments, ageist comments, or condemn gays and lesbians, within shouting distance of my two ears, will have a mouthful to listen to before I am finished.<\/p>\n I am no longer a pacifist, I am an activist. God gave me elbows for a reason, it’s time they were put to good and permanent use.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I was born and raised an orphan In a land that once was free In a land that poured it’s love out on the moon I grew up in the shadows Of your silos filled with grain But you never helped to fill my empty spoon When I was ten you murdered law With courtroom […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-leadership","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emergentbrethren.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emergentbrethren.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emergentbrethren.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emergentbrethren.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emergentbrethren.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/emergentbrethren.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emergentbrethren.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emergentbrethren.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emergentbrethren.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}